Daśāvatāra

The Daśāvatāra are the ten main avatāras (descents) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Each time dharma is in danger, Bhagavān Vishṇu comes into the world in a new form to set it right. The ten are Matsya (fish), Kūrma (tortoise), Varāha (boar), Narasiṃha (man-lion), Vāmana (dwarf), Paraśurāma, Rāma, Kṛshṇa, Buddha and Kalki.

Several Purāṇas list the ten. Below, the list of each text is given in turn: the Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, the Agni Mahā Purāṇa, the Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa and the Narasiṃha Purāṇa.

The ten avatāras in the Varāha Purāṇa

In Chapter 4, Bhagavān Vishṇu, speaking as Varāha, lists his ten main avatāras for Bhūdevī (the devī of the earth).

“These ten are the mūrtis of Nārāyaṇa. They are like steps (meṭlu) for those who wish to see Śrīman Nārāyaṇa.”

Why the avatāras come

In Chapter 4, Bhagavān Vishṇu says: “The highest form of this Deva is one even the devas cannot see. They are content with forms like ours.”

Each avatāra has a task:

• To protect the Vedas and sacred knowledge.
• To lift the burden of Bhūdevī, who is pressed down by the cruelty of asuras.
• To defeat particular asuras who had received a vara (boon).
• To bring back dharma in each yuga.

Which avatāra to approach

In Chapter 48, the Nara-Nārāyaṇa ṛshis at Badarī say which avatāra a person should approach for each aim.

The avatāras and the yugas

Chapters 10 and 15 give a main form of Bhagavān Vishṇu for each yuga.

The Daśāvatāra stotra

In Chapter 15, Gauramukha sings a stotra (hymn of praise) at the tīrtha of Prabhāsa. It praises all ten avatāras.

• Matsya: The one who took the form of a fish when the Vedas were stolen, who lit flames of war with the tip of his tail, who killed the asura.
• Kūrma: He took the form of a tortoise during the churning of the ocean and held the mountain for the good of all. He is the ancient Purusha, the destroyer of asuras. May he protect us.
• Varāha: The great Varāha who pierced from Bhūmi down to Talātala and held up the earth, the protector of the great heroes. May he protect us.
• Narasiṃha: He takes the form of Nṛsiṃha in every yuga, golden in colour, fearsome in form, terrible in face, the destroyer of the great-minded asura. May he protect us.
• Vāmana: The one who ruined the yajña of Bali, the Aprameya (the Immeasurable), whose form is yoga, the celibate student who bears skin and staff, who filled all the earth in three steps. May Vāmana-Trivikrama protect us.
• Paraśurāma: The one who won the earth twenty-one times and gave the whole earth to Kaśyapa, the son of Jamadagni, the protector of the good, the destroyer of asuras. May he protect us.
• Rāma, son of Daśaratha: The one who divided his Brahmāṇḍa-body into four (Rāma, Lakshmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna) and killed the asuras. May that Bhagavān Rāma protect us.
• Kṛshṇa / Vāsudeva: To give abhaya (freedom from fear) to the devas who feared Caṇūra and Kaṃsa, he became Vāsudeva in each yuga. He takes wonderful forms in each kalpa. May he protect us.
• Kalki: The one who, as Kalki in each yuga, sets the varṇas right and takes many forms. Even devas, siddhas and daityas cannot see that form. Only the path of vijñāna (direct knowledge) reaches it.

The monthly Dvādaśī vratas

The twelve monthly Ekādaśī and Dvādaśī vratas (vows) each honour one form of Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The Daśāvatāra in the Agni Purāṇa

The Agni Purāṇa gives Chapters 2 to 16 to the ten avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu. This is the main subject of the opening part of the text. Each avatāra has its own chapter or chapters. Chapter 49 then describes the forms of the mūrtis for installation and pūjā.

Matsya (Chapter 2)

At the end of the earlier kalpa, the sleep of Brahmā brought the pralaya (dissolution), and the asura Hayagrīva stole the Vedas from Brahmā. Vaivasvata Manu was offering tarpaṇa (a water offering) in the river Kṛtamālā when he found a tiny fish in his cupped hands. The fish grew as it was moved from one vessel to the next: a kamaṇḍalu (water pot), a pond, a lake, a river and the ocean. It then showed itself as Bhagavān Vishṇu.

Matsya warned Manu of the coming saṃvartaka flood. He told Manu to gather seeds and the seven ṛshis. He pulled Manu’s boat through the flood, tied to his single horn. After Matsya had kept Manu safe through the pralaya, he killed Hayagrīva and gave the Vedas back to Brahmā.

Kūrma (Chapter 3)

Durvāsa laid a śāpa (curse) on Indra. The devas lost their Śrī and the asuras defeated them. On the advice of Bhagavān Vishṇu, the devas and asuras together churned the Kshīrasāgara (the ocean of milk). They used Mandara as the churning rod and Vāsuki as the rope. When Mandara sank, Bhagavān Vishṇu became Kūrma and carried the mountain on his back.

The churning brought out Hālāhala (which Śiva drank), Vāruṇī, Pārijāta, Kaustubha, Lakshmī, and last Dhanvantarī carrying the amṛta (the drink of immortality). Rāhu took the form of a deva and drank some of the amṛta. Bhagavān Vishṇu cut off his head with the Sudarśana cakra. Taking the form of Mohinī, Bhagavān Vishṇu gave the amṛta to the devas alone, and the daityas were then defeated. Śiva saw Mohinī and was struck with desire. Their meeting made a field of golden liṅgas wherever the tejas of Śiva fell on the earth.

Varāha (Chapter 4)

The asura Hiraṇyāksha defeated the devas and took Svarga. When the devas begged for help, Bhagavān Vishṇu took the form of Varāha. He killed Hiraṇyāksha and the host of daityas with him. Dharma was restored, and the devas returned to their places.

Narasiṃha (Chapter 4)

Hiraṇyakaśipu, the brother of Hiraṇyāksha, took the shares of the devas in the yajña and ruled the three worlds with cruelty. His son Prahlāda stayed firm in his devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu. Hiraṇyakaśipu challenged him: “Is Vishṇu in this pillar?” Narasiṃha came out of the pillar, half man and half lion. He killed Hiraṇyakaśipu on his lap, at the threshold, at dusk, with his nails. This met every condition of the asura’s vara. The devas were restored to their places.

Vāmana (Chapter 4)

Bali Cakravartī defeated the devas and took Svarga. Bhagavān Vishṇu was born to Aditi and Kaśyapa as a dwarf brāhmaṇa. Vāmana came to the yajña of Bali. Śukrācārya warned Bali, but Bali gave him three steps of land. Bhagavān Vishṇu grew into Trivikrama and covered the three worlds in two strides. With the third stride he pressed Bali down into Pātāla. The three worlds were given back to Indra.

Paraśurāma (Chapter 4)

To lift from Bhūdevī the burden of proud kshatriyas, and to protect the brāhmaṇas, Bhagavān Vishṇu took birth as Bhārgava Paraśurāma, son of Jamadagni and Reṇukā. Kārtavīryārjuna (Sahasrārjuna) stole the Kāmadhenu of Jamadagni. Paraśurāma killed him, and his sons then killed Jamadagni in revenge. Paraśurāma vowed to wipe out the kshatriya race.

He crossed the earth twenty-one times. At Samantapañcaka he made five lakes of blood to offer tarpaṇa to the pitṛs. He gave the whole earth to Kaśyapa as dakshiṇā (a gift to the priest). Then he withdrew to the Mahendra mountain.

Rāma (Chapters 5 to 11)

The Agni Purāṇa gives seven chapters to Rāma, the son of Daśaratha. They cover the whole course of the Rāmāyaṇa, from the birth of Rāma to the killing of Rāvaṇa and his coronation.

Kṛshṇa and Balarāma (Chapter 12)

The Agni Purāṇa gives Balarāma as the eighth avatāra, together with Kṛshṇa. Chapter 12 tells the Harivaṃśa account of the birth of Kṛshṇa, his killing of Caṇūra and Kaṃsa, and his great deeds that lifted the burden of Bhūdevī.

Buddha (Chapter 16)

The asuras defeated the devas. Bhagavān Vishṇu then took birth as the son of Śuddhodana and taught a doctrine that led the winning asuras away from the Veda and the dharma it lays down. The asuras were charmed. They became Bauddhas and gave up Vedic practice. They grew weak in spirit and the devas then defeated them.

Kalki (Chapter 16)

At the end of Kaliyuga, mlecchas will rule as kings and crush the people, and dharma will be almost gone. Then Bhagavān Vishṇu will take birth as Kalki, the son of Vishṇuyaśa, armed and skilled in all weapons. He will destroy the mlecchas. He will bring the four varṇas back to their right conduct and the four āśramas (stages of life) back to their right dharma. He will set up Kṛtayuga again.

In this list of the Agni Purāṇa, Balarāma is the eighth avatāra alongside Kṛshṇa, and Buddha and Kalki are the ninth and tenth.

The avatāras in the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Garuḍa Purāṇa

The Brahma Khaṇḍa gives a longer list of the avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu than the usual ten. It begins with the vyūha forms (the four forms of Bhagavān Vishṇu).

1. Sanatkumāra-rūpa: the first avatāra. In this form Bhagavān Vishṇu began the Vedas.
2. Vāsudeva, Saṅkarshaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha: the four vyūha forms. All beings with a sthūla-deha (gross body) were made from these vyūhas. Brahmā and the other devas were made from the sthūla-deha of Vāsudeva.
3. Varāha: lifted Bhūdevī from the hold of the daitya Hiraṇyāksha.
4. Nārāyaṇa: lives in the āśrama at Badarī as a model of tapas for those who practise tapas.
5. Kapila: the avatāra who brought back the Sāṃkhya śāstra, with its twenty-four kāla-kavaliṭa tattvas.
6. Dattātreya: born to Atri and Anasūyā. He taught the ānvīkshikī (logic) vidyā to King Alarka.
7. Yajña: born to Ākūti. He set up the rule of the devas.
8. Ṛshabha: born to Merudevī and Nābhi. He protected the lokas.
9. Kūrma: held up Mandara during the churning for the amṛta.
10. Dhanvantarī: rose from the churning. He brought the amṛta and Āyurveda.
11. Mohinī: misled the daityas so that the devas could receive the amṛta.
12. Narasiṃha: killed Hiraṇyakaśipu and protected Prahlāda.
13. Vāmana: born to Aditi and Kaśyapa. He drove Bali down to Pātāla and gave the three worlds back to Indra.
14. Paraśurāma: born to Jamadagni. He wiped out the proud kshatriyas who had left dharma.
15. Rāma: born as the son of Kauśalyā and Daśaratha, the ravi-kula-śaśi (the moon of the line of the sun). He killed Rāvaṇa and thousands of rākshasas. He set the model of the ideal man for all time.
16. Vyāsa: divided the Veda into four and spread Vedic knowledge through his disciples.
17. Kṛshṇa-Vāsudeva: killed the dānava-aṃśas (parts of dānavas) born in human form, and gave the teaching of the Gītā.
18. Ṛddha (in the land of Kīkaṭa): misled the asuras so as to protect the good.
19. Kalki: will come to destroy the mleccha kings and bring back dharma.

The text adds that only Bhagavān Vishṇu himself knows the exact number of his avatāras.

The Daśāvatāra in the Narasiṃha Purāṇa

Chapter 36 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa gives its own list of the ten. It names Balarāma as the seventh avatāra, in the place where the other lists have Rāma. It names Buddha as the ninth avatāra, who appears in Kaliyuga before Kalki.

The story of Rāma is told in full in Chapters 47 to 52 of the same Purāṇa, a full Rāmāyaṇa in short. Several of its stotras call Rāma Rāvaṇāntakṛt (the one who ended Rāvaṇa).

Sources

• Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 4 (the ten avatāras)
• Chapters 10, 15 and 48, cited for the yugas, the Daśāvatāra stotra and the guidance of the Nara-Nārāyaṇa ṛshis
• Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 2 to 16 (Chapter 49 for the forms of the mūrtis)
• Garuḍa Mahā Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 15 to 17
• Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 36 (list of the ten), with Chapters 37 to 46 and 47 to 54